World Cup Title Raises U.S. Women’s Soccer Players’ Endorsement Potential

U.S. Women’s national soccer team players Lauren Holiday and Carli Lloyd at the FIFA Women’s World Cup game on Sunday.

RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES

Everyone loves a winner, especially advertisers.

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup title under the U.S. national soccer squad’s belt, high-profile team members have even stronger endorsement potential for brands, marketing executives said.

“Advertisers love to associate their product or service with winners and who’s hot in the marketplace,”said Bob Williams, chief executive of Burns Entertainment and Sports Marketing, a firm that represents advertisers who hire celebrities for endorsement deals. “Right now that’s U.S. women’s soccer.”

The final match in the World Cup soccer tournament final drew in a TV audience of 25.4 million, a record for the most watched soccer game in the U.S., Fox said. It even outstripped the U.S. men’s team’s game against Portugal at last summer’s World Cup. And there were nearly 2.9 million tweets about the team and the World Cup in the first six hours after the final game began on Sunday, according to digital marketing firm Amobee Brand Intelligence.

And the timing couldn’t be better for the women’s team to capitalize on their success, given that the summer Olympic Games are set for next year.

“This is prime time for women’s soccer players to sign endorsement deals because the Olympics are coming up,” said Mr. Williams. “Olympic sponsors are going to want to associate their brand with a world champion team and world championship players.”

One name that Olympic sponsors will pay closer attention to is Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat trick during Sunday’s final game, leading the U.S. to a 5-2 victory over Japan. Ms. Lloyd recently inked an endorsement deal with Visa and was one of several players that appeared in Nike’s “American Woman” ad that ran during the World Cup. There were nearly 121,000 tweets about Ms. Lloyd on Sunday night, more than any other player, according to Amobee’s data.

Ms. Lloyd’s three goals are the equivalent of Brandi Chastain’s iconic shootout goal in 1999 that sealed the U.S. women’s last World Cup championship, said David Schwab, senior vice president of Octagon First Call, which helps businesses work with celebrities.

“Carli can always be introduced as the first player to get a hat trick in the World Cup finals — that type of introduction never goes away,” he said. “She can go for appearances for truly the next decade or two.”

It still remains to be seen if any of the women will appear on the box of Wheaties, long billed the breakfast of champions. A General Mills spokesman said the cereal brand does not disclose future marketing plans.

Each of the players on the U.S. women’s soccer have momentum in attracting sponsorship deals, but there are a handful of names that are more well-known to the public than others, among them Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach. A contract for a typical marketing campaign that includes television and other services ranges in the low- to mid-six figures for a highly recognizable member of the sports team, Mr. Williams said.

Ms. Morgan remains the marketing star of the team and has been hired by brands to appear in campaigns throughout the course of the year, not just during soccer season, noted Mr. Schwab. She already has endorsement deals with big-name brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola and Nationwide.

Brands looking to ride on the coattails of the U.S. team’s victory are also also likely to work with a player who’s younger and will compete again in the future. Ms. Wambach, a veteran player, has said 2015 would be her last World Cup. Brands also aren’t eager to sign on goalie star Hope Solo, who is currently facing domestic violence allegations, Mr. Schwab said.

The timing is key for brands that want to sign on one of the U.S. women’s soccer team’s players because they can not only capitalize on the World Cup win, but also ensure additional media exposure around the Olympics and the chance of winning a gold medal, said Mr. Schwab.

“Even if you’re not doing a huge marketing deal, you should be doing things that keep you active in the marketplace and let fans see you. That increases your marketability,” Mr. Schwab said. “The Olympics are in a year so the media will be focused again on the team and the sport in the next year.”

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